President Hassan Rouhani warns US: War with Iran mother of all wars

Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed

Updated Jul 22, 2018 — 6.39pm, first published at 6.13pm

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday cautioned US President Donald Trump about pursuing hostile policies against Tehran, saying "America should know ... war with Iran is the mother of all wars," the state new agency IRNA reported.

Addressing a gathering of Iranian diplomats, President Rouhani said: "Mr Trump, don't play with the lion's tail, this would only lead to regret," IRNA reported.

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars," Hassan Rouhani says. STEFAN WERMUTH

"America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars.

"You are not in a position to incite the Iranian nation against Iran's security and interests," he said, in an apparent reference to reported efforts by Washington to destabilise Iran's Islamic government.

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In Washington, US officials familiar with the matter said the Trump administration had launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups.

Current and former US officials said the campaign paints Iranian leaders in a harsh light, at times using information that is exaggerated or contradicts other official pronouncements, including comments by previous administrations.

Tough sanctions

The officials said the campaign, supported by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, was meant to work in concert with Mr Trump's push to economically throttle Iran by re-imposing tough sanctions. The drive has intensified since Mr Trump withdrew on May 8 from a 2015 seven-nation deal to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The White House declined comment on the campaign. The State Department also declined to comment on the campaign specifically, including on Mr Pompeo's role.

A senior Iranian official dismissed the campaign, saying the US had sought in vain to undermine the government since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Their efforts will fail again," the official said.

A review of the State Department's Farsi-language Twitter account and its ShareAmerica website – which describes itself as a platform to spark debate on democracy and other issues – shows a number of posts critical of Tehran over the last month.

Iran is the subject of four of the top five items on the website's "Countering Violent Extremism" section. They include headlines such as "This Iranian airline helps spread violence and terror".

In social media posts and speeches, Mr Pompeo himself also appeals directly to Iranians, the Iranian diaspora and a global audience.